Established in the year 1917, the Patna Museum
is one of the best museums in India. With its presentation, Patna museum
is committed to impart a scientific vision to understand the evolution
of history, culture and art tradition of the land. As a repository of
ancient Indian glory, Patna Museum is, however, truly the cultural pride
of Bihar. Built in the Indo-Sarcenic style, the Patna Museum building
was constructed in the year 1928 within its own land measuring 700x500
ft.

Patna Museum has thousands of exhibits of
varied nature in its possession, which includes Pre & Proto –
historic objects, stone sculptures, bronzes, terracottas, paintings –
miniature and thanka paintings, coins, miscellaneous art-objects and so
on. Besides, there are numerous very rare collections in the museum and
one can not appreciate the Indian art history and cultural heritage of
the land without going through the collections. Patna Museum has pride
previlege of preserving the holy relic casket of Lord Buddha containing
his ashes and other associated materials discovered during excavation of
a stupa belonging to 6th Century B.C. at Vaishali.

The Patna Museum is a multipurpose museum. The
collections of varied nature can be classified into several sections.
Presently, there are altogether eleven classified sections.

The pre-historic objects include palaeoliths,
microliths and neoliths from different parts of Bihar, India and from
foreign countries as well. The Paleolithic tools from Bariar (M.P.) and
Lalitpur (U.P.) and also chellean and acheulean implements from
Attirampakkam (Tamilnadu) are very important. Besides, there are some
very fine neoliths from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and U.K. kept in the
museum.

The Patna Museum possesses the biggest
collection of copper hoards discovered from different parts of Jharkhand
and Bihar, viz.: Palamu, Ranchi, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Munger, Dhanbad
and Santhal-Pargana. They represent the casting technique and the high
skill in the metallurgy of the period. The anthropomorphic copper object
found from Dhanbad district is unique and very important.

The museum has the honour to preserve a few of the
important finds from the classical Harappan sites like Mohenjedaro and
Harrapa which include terracotta figurines, potteries, copper and bronze
objects, seals-sealings and weights.

Amongst the stone sculptures a special mention
must be made about the famous female ‘chawar Dharani figure of the
Mauryan period, i.e. 3rd Cent B.C. Discovered at Didarganj (Patna), the
magnificent statue is popularly known as Didarganj Yakshi. It is made of
pink chunar sand stone and bears the typical Mauryan polish. With a
‘Chawar’ in her right hand and slight forward inclined posture, the
charming figure demonstrates a modest apparance and also reflects her
humble submission toward the spectators. The highly lustured stone torso
of a jain Tirthankar from Lohanipur (Patna) is the earliest example of
Jaina art. The earliest Mauryan lion head from Masarh (Bhojpur) and the
bull capital from Hajipur of Mauryan period are also worth to mention.

A bi-facial Shalabhanjika, carved on stone slab
in high relief, is a fine specimen of craftsmanship of late
Mauryan-early Sunga period. The figure is in her full youthfull posture,
twisting the branch of tree with one of her hands.

Few beautiful sculptures of the Saaga period like
Medallion from Bodh Gaya and Bihar, nut and couple figure from Patna
City are also preserved in this museum.

The museum has a fairly good number of
sculptures of the Gandhara and the Mathura art which is chronologically
synchronized with the age of Kushans. The Gandhar specimens also known
as ‘Graeco-Buddhist Art’ are made of blue-schist of Swat valley and the
collection includes figures of Buddha, Bodhisattavas and narrative
panels as well. The panel depicting the birth scene of Siddhartha is
undoubtedly important one among the narrative panels. There are also a
few specimens of stucco figures. The sculptures of Mathura School depict
Buddha, Bodhisattavas, Hariti, Jatak scenes and so on. Amongst Kushana
sculptures from Bihar, special reference may be made of the famous trio
from Devangarh in the Nawada district. Having obvious regional
variation, the trio consists of the figures of Ekanamsa, Balarama and
Vasudeva. Unlike conventional one, images of Patna Museum trio are
separately sculptured.

A female figure in stone from Sakarigalighat,
Rajmahal is a fine example of classical Gupta art skill. Tilted as
“shuka kridarat nari” the figure is shown feeding a bird. The sculpture
depicts a sensuous and delicate beauty of womanhood. It virtually
portrays a happy janapada life of the period. Among other stone images
of the Gupta and the late Gupta period, the figures of Karitikeya, Agni,
Ganesha from Mundeshwari (Kaimur) are worth mentioning. The bi-facial
dancing figure of Kartikeya, belonging to post-Gupta period from
Mahrawan (Nawadah), is unique as it is one of a few sculptres discovered
so far from North-India which represent the dancing figures on the both
sides of a wheel.

The Museum preserves a good number of
sculptures of the Pala-Sena school of art dated in between 8th &
12th century A.D. These sculptures in general, are made of black basalt
stone. The sculptures in this group are varied in nature and comprise
Brahmnical, Buddhist, Jaina and several miscellaneous sculptures.
Particular mention may be made of a group of three images of
Avalokitesvra, Maitreya and Buddha in bhumisparsh posture discovered
from Vishnupur (Gaya). One fine example of the Pala craftsmanship may be
seen in a spout ending gargoyle (makara mukha-pranal). Some beautiful
door frames with the figures of Ganga and Yamuna are worth watching.
There are also several other interesting sculptures discovered from
different regions.

The Museum possesses the best collection of
bronze, better known as astadhatu, images in India. These bronzes were
discovered from Chausa (Buxar), Kurkihar (Gaya), Nalanda, Belwa (Saran),
Aluara (Bokaro), Sonepur (Orissa) and Nagapattam (Tamilnadu).

The eighteen jain bronzes from Chausa are one
of the most important collections of this Museum. These consist of
Dharmachakra, Kalpavriksha and sixteen images of Jain Tirthankaras.
These are the earliest known Jain bronzes in India and first known
bronze hoard from Gangetic valley.

Patna Museum preserves a good number of bronzes
from Nalanda. These depict the deities of all major religions; i.e.
Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanism prevalent at that period. The figures
are dated from post Gupta to Pala period. The bronzes from Kurkihar
numbering 163 are regarded as the best collection of bronzes from any
part of India. The Kurkihar collection includes some of the very
marvelous bronzes in India, such as figures of Buddha, Bodhisattavas,
Tara, Balarama and so on. These art pieces represent the high quality of
the metal art that flourished during the Pal period. A few of these
images are plated with gold.

For the study of Jaina iconography, besides
bronzes from Chausa, metal images from Aluara belonging to 11th-12th
cent. A.D. are very important. Out of twenty nine, one depicts the Jain
Ambika and rest the Jaina Tirthankaras.

The Museum also preserves a good number of
bronzes discovered from Sonepur (Orissa), Negapattam (Tamilnadu) and
Nellore (Andhra Pradesh).

The terracotta collection of the Museum is
superb and famous world wide. Majority of these terracottas are from
different parts of Bihar, such as Patna, Vaishali, Belwa, Bodh Gaya,
Nalanda, Chausa and so on. A good number of terracottas are brought from
Mathura, Varanasi and Paharpur (Bangladesh) as well.

The terracotta figurines from Patna, mostly of
the Maurya age, are of great importance. The three dancing damsels, the
laughing boy and the smiling girl from the ancient city of Pataliputra
are very rare and technically superb. Besides, there are numerous
terracotta specimens which represent the artistic excellence of the
period. Female terracotta heads from Buxar, belonging the Mauryan
period, are highly elaborate in their head dress and coiffure.
Terracottas from Vaishali, Bodh Gaya, Mathura are examples of local
craftsmanship. The museum has some very good collection of Gupta
terracottas from Kausambi. A beautiful plaque depicting Ramayan scene
from Chausa is an example of excellent classical Gupta art. The large
size plaques from Paharpur (Bangladesh) depict the technical skill of
the Gupta-Pala period. There is a good collection of terracotta seals
and sealings from Vaishali, Nalanda and Dharawat. The Patna Museum in
its art repository has miniature paintings, thankas and numerous
decorative and miscellaneous art objects. The collection consists of
painting on paper of different schools; such as – the Rajastahni,
Mughal,Pahari, Delhi School and Patna Qalam. These paintings range in
date from the beginning of the 16th to the end of the 19th century A.D.
The classical miniature paintings are varied in theme and they cover a
broad spectrum of content. Mention may be made of the paintings related
to the divine love of Radha & Krishna, scenes of Ramayana,
asthanayika bheda, barahmasa, rag-ragini themes. Three illustrated
manuscripts of Jain Uttaradhayayan Sutra on paper are also very
important. The paintings of Delhi School are both on paper and ivory.

The Patna Museum has in its possession a fairly
good number of Patna School or Patna Qalam paintings which flourished
in the city of Patna itself for about two centuries right from 1760 A.D.
to the early decades of 20th century. The paintings are painted on
paper, mica and ivory. The Museum has pride privilege of having the
collection of Tibetan scroll paintings on silk which were presented by
Rahul Sankrityayan. These Thankas are dated from 17th to 19th century
A.D. The Tibetan scroll paintings mainly depict Buddha, Bodhisattva,
Lamas, different Tantrayani deities, Chakrasamvar and so on.

The Patna Museum has got a very good collection
of coins which are quite representative of different periods and
dynasties ranging from earliest punch marked coins to modern
commemorative coins. There are a good number of gold coins of the
Kushanas, Guptas and Mughal rulers in the coin cabinet of Patna Museum.
The museum also preserves the gifts of late Dr. rajendra Prasad, the
first President of Indian Republic, which he had received during the
tenure of his Preseidency. Besides the above and so many undescribed
ones, there are a few very rare collections housed in the museum. Two
small gold repousse of caparisoned couchant Humped bulls from Vaishali
are important for the study of metal art. A male standing figure with a
turban on the head and holding a chamar, discovered from Vaishali
excavations, is an example of fine craftsmanship. A gold repousse from
Sultanganj displays a female figure within an oval plaque. This piece of
art can be dated to Gupta period. In the category of rare collection
mention may also be made of a group of 23 stone discs from Murtaziganj
(Patna). The intricacy of ivory engraving and exquisite finish of
jewellery making technique represent the high aesthetic taste of the
people of the Maurya-Sunga period.

Besides the historical and archaeological
objects, Patna Museum has some other interesting exhibits : such as a 53
feet long fossilized tree of Pine family discovered near Asansol in
1927. The old-arms like swords, daggers, shields, bagnakha, guns
belonging to medieval period and cannon of First and Second World Wars
create special interest in every visitor. Some stuffed wild life
specimens, in which some are extinct, attract children and elders alike.

With the private collection of Sri Chandradhari
Singh, a Zamindar of Madhubani, the state Government established a
museum in the year 1957 at Darbhanga naming it Chandradhari Museum after
the name of its donor. This museum has numerous artifacts and
art-objects of different periods including terra-cottas, coins and
paintings of artistic excellence. Besides art-objects made of metal,
wood clay and ivory; the museum possesses different kinds of beads, old
arms and furnitures, specimens of precious stone, gold objects,
jewellary, costumes and dresses, musical instruments and so on. The
entire collection of the museum has been housed in its own building.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Sudhir Yadav

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 06272-222537 (O), 93343-96691 (M).

Gaya Museum, Gaya

The private collection belonging to Late Shri
Baldeo Prasad of Gaya was taken over and declared as Gaya Museum by the
Directorate of Archaeology & Museums., Govt. of Bihar in the year
1970. Presently, the museum is housed in its new building. In its new
building, the museum is proposed to be developed as the Gaya
Museum-cum-Magadh Cultural Centre with the view to collect, display and
make available all the relevant information regarding living cultural
heritage of the Magadh region under one roof. The Gaya museum has the
privilege to have a very good collection of some very important art
specimens of bygone days in its art repository. The museum preserves
more than 3000 antiquities, art-pieces and objects of public interest.
The rich collection of stone sculptures
especially of Pal period is very important and it consists of some
rare examples of artistic excellence of the period. In its possession,
Gaya museum has also a good collection of coins of different period
(from punch marked to medieval coins), manuscripts, terracotta figurines
ranging right from Mauryan (3rd Cent B.C.) to Gupta period (4th – 5th
Cent A.D.), Pal bronzes and other art-objects.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Vinay Kumar

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 98354-16414 (M).

Naradah Museum, Nawada

In the year 1974, with the initiative of the
then District Magistrate of newly created district of Nawada Shri N. P.
Singh, I.A.S. the Naradah Museum was established. Almost all the
exhibits were collected and made over to the Deptt. of Art, Culture
& Youth, Govt. of Bihar by Shri Singh himself. Naradah Museum is a
multi-purpose museum and the mention-worthy artifacts and art-objects
include Pal stone sculptures, coins and manuscripts. Besides,
contemporary painting, metal and stone art-pieces have also been
preserved in the museum. The entire collection is housed in a
magnificent building of its own.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Awadh Kishore Prasad Singh

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 94312-34398 (M)

Maharaja Lakshmishwar Singh Museum, Darbhanga

There is one more govt. museum in the city of
Darbhanga named Maharaja Lakshmishwar Singh Museum. The main collection
of the museum comprises the donation made over to the Govt. of Bihar by
the family of Darbhanga Raj in the year 1979. In the same premises, just
beside the Chandradhari Museum, the collection of Maharaja Lakshmishwar
Singh Museum is housed in its own building. The museum has got such
priceless art-objects which can not be found in any other museums. The
art-pieces made of ivory are very important so far the artistic
excellence of carving on ivory is concerned.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Sri ...

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 06272-222537 (O).

Bhagalpur Museum, Bhagalpur

To collect and display the artifacts and art
objects belonging to the region of Bhagalpur, a state museum was started
in the year 1976. Recently, the collection of museum has been shifted
to its own building. There is a very good collection of stone sculptures
of Pal period (8th–12th A.D.) The State Govt. has the proposal to
develop this museum as Bhagalpur Museum-cum-Anga Cultural Centre and the
work is in progress.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Srikant Bhagat

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 9304950572 (M)

Chandra Shekhar Singh Museum, Jamui

In the year 1983, a museum at Jamui was taken
over by the State Govt. to preserve the antiquities of the region. It
was renamed as Chandra Shekhar Singh Museum after the name of late Shri
Chandra Shekhar Singh the ex-Chief Minister of Bihar in the year 1986.
This museum is known for its rich collection of stone sculptures of
transitional phase between Gupta and Pal period.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Shri Shams Abrar

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 95463-67672 (M)

Biharsharif Museum, Biharsharif

The Biharsharif Museum was created in the year
1979. The museum has recently been shifted to its own building named
‘Virasat Bhawan’ at Biharsharif, the district headquarter of Nalanda.
The stone sculptures housed in this museum mostly belong to Magadhan
School of Indian Art, i.e., Pal period. A few good examples of stone
sculptures, medieval coins and stone inscription are the pride
collection of the museum.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Awadh Kishore Pd. Singh

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 94312-34398 (M)

Sita Ram Upadhyay Museum, Buxar

In the year 1979, Buxar Museum was established
with a few good stone sculptures and coins. Hundreds of very good
Terracottas collected by a local resident late Shri Sita Ram Upadhyaya
was donated to the Buxar Museum and in the year 1993, the Govt. of
Bihar, on request, renamed it as the Sita Ram Upadhyaya Museum after the
name of the donor. The museum is famous for magnificent terracotta
collections, especially the terracotta figurines belonging to the
Mauryan and Shunga period (3rd–2nd Cent B.C.). Besides, there are a few
stone sculptures and coins preserved in this museum as well.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Arvind Mahajan
Curator (B.E.S., Class II)
Phone: 94314-57349 (M)

Ram Chandra Shahi Museum, Muzaffarpur

Ram Chandra Shahi Museum at Muzaffarpur was
established in the year 1979. It has got its own building in the campus
of Jubba Sahni Park. The museum possesses a very good collection
including artifacts and numerous art-objects of varied nature. The
museum is famous for its rich collection of rare postage stamps.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Vimal TiwariCurator (B.E.S., Class II)
Phone: 97982-54502 (M)

Begusarai Museum, Begusarai

With the artifacts and art-objects collected
within and the adjoining area of Begusarai district, a museum named as
Begusarai Museum was established in the year 1981. The main collection
of this museum consists of some very good specimens of Pal period stone
sculptures and coins.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr.
Jaiprakash Narayan Singh (Additional Charge)

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone: 94310-34172 (M)

Chapra Museum, Chapra

The Chapra museum was established in the
district headquarter of Saran. The exhibits collected from the region
have been displayed in the Chapra Museum. Recently, with the transfer
of antiquities unearthed during the excavations of famous archaeological
site of Chirand (Saran), the regional museum has been shifted in its
own building named ‘Dhai Aakhar Bhawan’. The Chirand materials include a
very rare Kushana teracotta mask, bone tools and artifacts of Neolithic
and Chalcolithic periods. Amongst stone sculptures, a few excellent
Pala stone sculptures are also kept in the museum.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Vijay Kumar

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 93083-52645 (M)

Jana-Nayak Karpoori Tahkur Smriti Sangrahalay, Patna

The Govt. of Bihar has declared the official
residence of ex-Chief Minister of Bihar late Shri Karpoori Thakur as the
memorial museum in the year 1990 to commemorate the life, achievements
and philosophy of late Shri Thakur. Since the Jana-nayak Karpoori
Thakur Smriti Sangrahalaya is a personalia museum, it displays and
preserves the articles of daily-use, dresses, documents, letters,
diaries, writings and several other things belonging to late Shri
Karpoori Thakur.

There is a very good library having a very good
collection of Hindi, English, Bangla and a few Urdu books on various
subjects and topics which had been collected and preserved by the
late-CM.

The Govt. has a plan to develop this museum as
research institute on social issues. A village-complex depicting the
life, customs, environment and ecology of rural Bihar, has also been
proposed in the campus of the Smriti Sangrahalaya.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr.
Jaiprakash Narayan Singh (Additional Charge)

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone: 0612-2370217 (R), 94310-34172 (M)

Babu Kunwar Singh Smriti Sangrahalay, Bhojpur

In the year 1972, the Govt. of Bihar declared
the paternal residence of Babu Kunwar Singh as the Babu Kunwar Singh
Smriti Sangrahalaya at Jagdishpur (Bhojpur) with the view to commemorate
the first war of independence of 1857. Under the financial assistance
of the 11th Finance Commission, the plan to develop this museum as a
martyrium of freedom struggle is in progress.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. Arvind Mahajan (Additional Charge)

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone: 94314-57349 (M)

Deep Narayan Singh Museum, Hajipur

It is a district museum named after Late Deep
Narayan Singh, a famous freedom fighter of the district. He is at
present running Gandhi Ashram at Hajipur.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Sri Sunil Chandra Chunni

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 99347-38819 (M)

Mithila Lalit Sangrahalaya, Saurath (Madhubani)

This museum depicts the traditional Mithila culture of Madhubani District.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Sri Satyendra Kumar

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 93345-49264 (M)

Gandhi Smriti Sangrahalaya, Bhitiharwa (West Champaran)

This ashram which was established by Mahatma
Gandhi in 1917 is being preserved by Directorate of Museum. Kasturba
Gandhi was the first teacher in this ashram.

Details of officer in charge of the museum is as follows:

Dr. O. P. Pandey

Curator-in-Charge

Phone : 94304-25828 (M)

Suraj Narayan Singh Museum, Patna

This museum has been established with the
personal belongings of the great socialist freedom fighter Late Suraj
Narayan Singh at the Birchand Patel Path, Patna.

Baba Karu Khirhar Pramandaliya Museum, Saharsa

A small museum namely Baba Karu Khirhar Museum
has been opened in the campus of famous Matsya Gandha tank at Saharsa.
There are stone sculptures of Pal period, different types of coins and
many other popular articles of public interest displayed in this museum.

Details of officer in charge of the museum are as follows:

Srikant Bhagat

Curator (B.E.S., Class II)

Phone : 9304950572 (M)

Besides the aforesaid museums, there are Bettiah
Museum, Bettiah and Lakhisarai Museum, Lakhisarai which display and
preserve the rich heritage of the respective regions. Attempts are being
made by the State Government to enrich these regional museums.

Apart from the museums governed by the Deptt. of
Art, Culture & Youth, there are also a few other museums of
different disciplines controlled by the other departments of Govt. of
Bihar.

Small Scale Industrial Museum, Patna

Under the Department of Industries Govt. of Bihar
established a Small Scale Industrial Museum with the view of displaying
the different objects collected and prepared as representatives of Small
Scale Industries and thereby promoting the interest of the concerned
industry among the concerned artisans.

Bihar Police Museum, Patna

The Police Museum is located by the northern side
of the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg (old Bailey Road) near the Golf Club,
Patna. Efforts have been made to equip the museum with the maximum
possible old arms and ammunitions, dresses and other concerned objects
handled and used by the contemporary Police officials.